


Instincts to Guide in the Storm

by Thisisentertaining



Series: Always trust Sokka's instincts [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Avatar: S1 E12, Avatar: The Storm, Backstory, Boats and Ships, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ozai's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28700553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisentertaining/pseuds/Thisisentertaining
Summary: Zuko isn't sure what prompts him to start talking.Maybe it's the possible impending doom.Maybe it's the novelty of having someone to tell who might care.Maybe it's just that kind of storm. The one that makes you want to curl up around a fire to tell stories, and he and Sokka aren't exempt from that even on a perilous ship.Regardless of the reason, Zuko begins to tell the story that the Freedom Fighters never bothered to even ask about.
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Always trust Sokka's instincts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883224
Comments: 46
Kudos: 465





	Instincts to Guide in the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> After several stories which reference Sokka hearing the truth in The Storm, I have finally finished actually writing that episode!
> 
> For people who are not reading these as they come out, sorry for the confusing authors notes. I wrote these eps extremely out of order. 
> 
> Next will be the Blue Spirit episode and will be another short one like this and Fortuneteller's Instincts and maybe the Northern Air temple possibly. Then, persuming the Bato episode doesn't suddenly hit with inspiration, I'll go back to Cold Hard Instincts! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> TW: Mentions of Canonical instances of child abuse

Sokka and Zuko leaned the entirety of their weight against the ropes holding the sail as the wind ferociously attempted to wrench it from this side to that. As one particularly powerful gust of wind pulled at the abrasive rope, Sokka yelped and made to drop it, to retreat into the small cabin like that fisherman and pray that the small ship would somehow survive, but Zuko didn’t so much as falter. It was as though the laws of physics warped in response to his stubbornness. Though the wind should have far overpowered him, the boy simply refused to move, and nothing the rocking seas or the rushing wind did could tear him from his goal.

Finally, the pair managed to force the sail into position just enough to make it so that the vessel was facing the waves instead of allowing the waves to hit the side of the boat. Sokka rushed to throw a makeshift storm anchor out the back of the boat and the pair collapsed as much of the sail as they felt they safely could before dropping onto the deck, mostly sheltered by the cabin, but close enough to the workings of the ship to get to them in an instant if needed.

Sokka let out a loud sigh of relief as he sat down, and couldn’t help casting the other teen an impressed look. Zuko was breathing very heavily, arms collapsed at his sides as though he couldn’t bear to move them. Kid was strong for someone who had been trapped in a cave. Sokka had known that, distantly. He’d seem him climbing over the great divide like a mountain-goat-squirrel, but it was different here. This could not be attributed to flexibility or finesse, it was all brute force and tenacity.

“I can’t believe we did it!” He said, suddenly giddy with relief and wanting to share his sudden joy. Zuko cast him a soft, exhausted smile. “You man, you just, stuck with it. I swear that should not have worked, but you just kept going until it did. Awesome.”

Zuko didn’t say anything for several long moments, and Sokka was happy to sit in his relief, pelted by rain and constantly shifting to try and stay upright on the roiling boat.

“Never give up without a fight.” Zuko said suddenly.

“Huh?”

“When I was a kid, my Uncle sent me a souvenir. It was a knife with the engraving ‘never give up without a fight’.”

Sokka snorted, then coughed when the motion send rainwater up his nose. When he could breathe again, the boy said, “Wow so you got like, one present and were like, ‘that’s it, this is my life motto from now on’.” He laughed. It just fit Zuko so perfectly. This was a kid who had been chained in a cave for literal years and still yelled at his captors. This was the boy with no stamina that practically ran himself into the ground to get to Gaipan and save it.

“Not exactly.” Zuko said, so softly that Sokka had to fight to hear it over the roaring of the waves, wind, and rain.

“What do you mean?” Sokka asked, just as quietly. There was a heavy pressure in his chest, one that was entirely separate from the fear and adrenaline that came from sitting in a storm. This was about to be a Serious Conversation.

“One time… I didn’t. I gave up without fighting. I’ll never make that mistake again.”

* * *

Sokka didn’t ask. He didn’t look at the scar. He didn’t push. Maybe that was why Zuko actually answered. Maybe it was because Sokka had freed him, and Zuko thought it was only right that he leaned the truth that the Freedom Fighters had never bothered to ask. Maybe it was because on this roiling, rioting, flailing excuse for a boat, the next day did not seem certain, and Zuko wanted at least one person to know what had happened to him.

Maybe it was simply the kind of storm that prompted people to huddle together and tell stories by the fire, and they were not exempt from the desire even out here on the waves.

“Back… home, in the fire nation I…” Wait. There was truth, then there was stupidity. Zuko did not always think things through, but… well, when you were surrounded by people who talked endlessly about defeating the Fire Lord, it didn’t take a genius to know that you shouldn’t tell them that he was your father.

He was giving truth tonight, but he was hoarding it as well, just as he had in the cave. He’d hoarded his identity, his inability to bend, his weakness. His people had learned from the dragons, he knew how to hoard. Just as his father hoarded land and his sister hoarded praise. He would give some of his hoard away, but was keeping the brightest jewels for himself.

“I belonged to a noble family.”

Sokka snorted. “No duh.”

“What?”

“I mean, that bit was kinda obvious.”

“No it- how?”

“You just your kinda whole… deal.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” He roared, his voice loud enough to be crystal clear over the deafening wind and waves.

“Nothing, nothing.” Sokka said, and Zuko narrowed his eyes but decided to leave it.

The moment had definitely ended though. “My family was… extremely influential, and when I was around ten there were some… there was an incident, and I personally found myself in a much more important position.” He’d gone from fifth in line to the throne to second, from never imagining himself sitting upon the flaming dais to being groomed to take over.

It had been a lot.

“But I…” Had a sister who was so close on his heels that they were blistered. A sister who was favored and who could very well take over his destiny if he didn’t fight for it. “Wanted to prove myself. So when I was thirteen, I convinced Uncle to sneak me into a war council. He said that he would but made me promise to keep quiet.”

An impossible feat. Zuko should have known. If it had been anyone but Uncle, he would think that it had been an intentional sabotage to put him in a position where he had to hold his tongue. If Father was thinking, he probably would have done it long ago to have an excuse to… well do exactly what he did. Not Uncle though, he had always believed in Zuko far too much. Iroh had trusted him, and Zuko had failed him just as he had failed everyone else.

“I’m guessing you weren’t quiet?” Sokka said softly as Zuko continued to be silent, lost in thought and self-incrimination.

“I- I couldn’t. What they were planning- it was horrible. And no one else was _saying_ anything. I couldn’t just let them- I couldn’t.”

Sokka watched him with solemn eyes. Zuko wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Was it something noble? Did he imagine Zuko had even then been questioning the war? Was he imagining that Zuko was speaking out about imprisoning earthbenders? Destroying crops? Marching through poor towns? What would he say if he knew that Zuko had simply been protecting the lives of his people? Of soldiers? Would he care that they were new recruits being sent to slaughter?

“I argued against the general in the middle of the meeting in front of the Fire Lord himself. F- The Fire Lord said that it was an act of complete disrespect, that my actions were shameful and without honor. He said that the only way to resolve it was though an Agni Kai, a firebending duel.”

“Oh. Are you- were you a good bender?”

No. “I had the best masters in the land. I wasn’t their best pupil, but… I was confident that I could beat the general who- who made the suggestion.”

“I guess he was better than you thought.” Sokka said carefully, his eyes straying to the scar for the first time.

Zuko let out a bark of laughter that was more pain than anything else. “I don’t know. I’ll never know. When I got to the arena… he wasn’t my opponent. I had been disrespectful in the war room of the Fire Lord. When I made that challenge, I wasn’t just disrespecting the general.”

“You were disrespecting the Fire Lord.” Sokka breathed, his voice full of wonder. “You fought the _Fire Lord_?” His voice squeaked at the end.

“No. I didn’t. I never intended to fight the Fire Lord. I didn’t want to- I wasn’t trying to- I was a loyal-“  
Son. He wanted to be a loyal son. But he couldn’t say that. “I was _loyal_ , and I didn’t want to fight my Fa-my Fire Lord.”

“You gave up without a fight.” Sokka said softly, remembering the beginning of his confession.

“I begged for mercy. But the Fire Lord has none. He burned me when I was on my knees, cupped my face as if in comfort and-“ Pain. Days and days of pain. “He claimed that by refusing to fight I showed extreme cowardice. He banished me, never to return to my family or home. Never to regain my honor. I was still injured when the boat ferrying me kicked me off. Jet found me a few days later and… you know the rest.”

Zuko’s mouth suddenly went try, as though he couldn’t bear to speak another word. He had never actually… told anyone about this before. He wasn’t sure how widespread the news had gotten after, Father would have tried to quiet it as much as possible but with something like this it was hard to say how successful he might have been.

He’d told his story though, and while that did not change his circumstances, it somehow eased the pressure on his chest, just a bit. Taking a deep breath, the boy looked to the sky, watching the far off haze of the moon attempting to permeate through the thick clouds. His eyes narrowed when a spot of… something passed in front of the moon. Was that-

He wasn’t able to think beyond that as a particularly high burst of wind and wave sent the ship careening and he scrambled to hold onto something lest he be thrown overboard. 

* * *

Sokka eyed Zuko in the fierce wind, squinting against the rain that battered against his eyes. He… wasn’t sure what to take from this. On the one hand, good news: the Fire Lord was an even worse person than they thought and barbecued random kids for talking at inappropriate times.

Side note, this is also even more incentive to keep Aang from this man at all costs. Except in a ‘coming to defeat him’ kinda way.

On the other hand though, Zuko had made a point to say that he was loyal to the Fire Nation (is loyal? Had been loyal?). How deep does this loyalty go? Have they already said too much? Would Zuko betray them for his people? What does _he_ consider honorable?

Why had Sokka thought that spending years imprisoned by the Earth Kingdom would make him _more_ eager to fight his people?

But there was that bitterness he had whenever he spoke about the Fire Lord. There was the way he spoke about how the man had burned him, hurt him, a child.

There was the way he didn’t question helping the refugees through the canyon, despite knowing that they were running from his nation.

Sokka opened his mouth to ask, because ‘hey are you loyal to the Fire Nation or not’ was a great friendship and trust building conversation that they should definitely have when it would be easy to make his death look like an accident, but before he could say a word a sharp wave brought brackish water into his mouth. The teen alternated between spitting out the water and clutching a part of the boat for dear life as the waves rocked it to and thro.

“Sokka!” Zuko suddenly shouted, pointing to the sky, at first the Water Tribe teen didn’t see anything, then he did. Appa was swooping through the storm, diving for the boat. “Get the fisherman!” Zuko commanded as he fought with the ropes once more, attempting to keep them aloft until the bison could arrive. Sokka ran into the small cabin, where the grumpy man was huddled under a table, and pulled him up. The man yelped and attempted to protest but Sokka barely heard as he forced him onto deck.

Sokka pulled the man to the bow, which rose and fell with the waves. Zuko abandoned the ropes as Appa got closer and joined them. Appa lowered enough for Aang to drop on a rope, commanding those on the boat to grab on. Sokka grabbed the rope first, holding it steady for the fisherman and Zuko to grab. With a fierce burst of airbending, Aang utilized the natural winds around them to send the rope flying with a snap, arching it so that it would land the three figures safely in the saddle.

At least, that was the idea.

As soon as the rope crested its highest point, the movement, rain, and coarse rope proved to be too much for the elderly man, and he lost his grip. The man went flying through the air, spitting curses at Aang as he went.

“No!” Zuko shouted, immediately dropping the rope after him, with no regard to his health and personal safety.

“Zuko!” Sokka yelled as he landed safely in the boat. Aang yelped and used wind once again to send the rope flying through the air, this time Zuko grabbed it with one hand, the other wrapping around the old man’s waist. By that point the rope was half-underwater and had lost its momentum. Sokka and Katara had to pull them up as Aang fought to keep the bison from going under.

Finally they pulled a shaking Zuko and shuddering man from the water. Sokka clapped him on the back with a grin. He still didn’t know if the firebender was still loyal to the Fire Nation. He didn’t even know if he was really… for Aang. But he did know that he was a good person. And for the moment, that was enough. They could work on the other stuff.

Sokka flashed a quick grin at his sister as they safely flew away. “So… what did you and Aang get up to while we were gone?” He asked, striving for a bit of normalcy after a night of near-death experiences and horrifying revelations.

“We just… talked.”

“Hm. What did you talk about?”

She didn’t answer. Sokka couldn’t really blame her though, he wouldn’t have wanted to answer that question either.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote another Avatar fic that isn't part of this series BTW! 
> 
> If anyone is interested in Werewolf!Zuko being mistaken for an abused dog and adopted by the Gaang in a modern AU, please check out my fic As the Blue Spirit Howls. 
> 
> .... Yeah, I don't know either. I wish I had answers for you on how that plot bunny came to me, but I haven't a single idea.
> 
> Also, if anyone wants to chat, I do have Tumblr: http://thisentertaining.tumblr.com/


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